The Opposite of Love is .....
September 28, 2025
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a troubling one. Did he do anything to harm the poor man lying at his gate? Did he earn his money in an unjust manner? What was the wrong that he did? Then why did he end up in Hell?
As I read this parable, it became clear to me that in this parable, based on the information given, the rich man did no action that could be considered wrong or evil. So then why was he condemned? The only thing that the parable says about him is that he ignored the poor man who lay at his gate. And then I remembered that Elie Wiesel had once remarked, that “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.”
When I put those thoughts together with a recent study from the UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Centre which revealed a troubling link between wealth, power, and declining empathy, I wonder if that’s what happened to the rich man in the parable, and what happens to many of us, as he and we grow better off economically and power-wise. According to the same article, brain imaging by Northwestern University revealed that high-status individuals exhibit neural patterns similar to those of patients with damage to their empathy centres. Is it our evolutionary desire to ‘survive’ that makes us become less concerned about others as we struggle to win the rat-race ?
Whatever the case, this ought to make us pause and reflect as to whether this has become true in our own lives. Ignoring someone is perhaps far more devastating than opposing someone. For when one opposes someone, one is at least acknowledging their existence. But ignoring someone is dismissing their entire existence as not really worth taking into account. I have seen many of us, allegedly followers of Jesus, allegedly religious people, whichever religion we belong to, who may not actively do anything to hurt others, but are quite comfortable with ignoring suffering, and issues, where we NEED to act or speak up, or at the very least to allow ourselves to feel troubled. On the other hand, a person like George Bernard Shaw who was proud to proclaim himself an atheist, says in his play, The Devil’s Disciple: “The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate him, but to be indifferent to him’.
Of course we do have an explanation as to why we ignore suffering and poverty. When evil, injustice, and deprivation is too much, many of us choose to turn a blind eye, telling ourselves: What can I do about it? This evil may occur in the expanded circle of our families, in our religious institutions, in our country, or in our world - and of course we are overwhelmed by it all. We do not know what to do, and so we end up wanting some peace of mind and so we ignore these things. I understand this, and I know I too am guilty of this.
But the point of today’s parable is perhaps to teach us something similar to what I have earlier said about prayer, namely that the point of prayer is not to change God, but to change ourselves in our relationship with God, and with our neighbour who is God’s face for us. Because what the parable is teaching us is that we are called to not ignore those in need, not to ignore the evil around us, not necessarily because we can change the world too much, but in order to save/change ourselves, in order to retain our own empathy, our own humanity. In the same manner, by choosing to ignore Lazarus who sat in sores at his very gate, the rich man, lost touch with his 'neighbour, and therefore, also lost touch with God, and his own humanity. And that is why he ends up suffering. For if we build a me(n)tal shell around us to prevent us from feeling for others, we may find that, like the Tin Man who accompanied Dorothy to the Land of Oz, we have no heart. And, of course, because sometimes/oftentimes, to keep trying to remain sensitive to others becomes too difficult, we will fail, - but we must keep trying, helping when we can, but never never ever ignoring. For it is only when we allow the awareness of the suffering around us to keep impinging on our consciousness, that we can retain our humanity. By ignoring suffering, by not attempting to consciously become aware of the issues around us, or even sometimes by criticising those who help others at great cost to themselves and their loved ones, - we become like the rich man in the parable, and really condemn ourselves.
First Reading: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,
You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.
You strum away on your harps like David
and improvise on musical instruments.
You drink wine by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.
Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;
your feasting and lounging will end.
But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time - he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things and Lazarus in like manner evil things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house - for I have five brothers - that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ”
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